Years ago a friend lost his job as an engineer. Rather than seeking employment in the corporate world, he decided to farm. Not growing up on a farm, it took several years of poverty for them to see the fruits of their labor.

Why am I telling you this? One day his wife confided in me that the only fresh salads they got were from the weeds in the backyard. Unbelievable? Not really. The herbs growing in our backyards contain many more nutrients than the bags of iceberg lettuce in the produce section of the grocery that most of us call a salad. Let me introduce you to a wild salad—one of highly nutritious herbs—growing in my yard.

 Dandelion

The chief of salad greens, dandelion (Taraxaum officinale) cleanses your liver and kidneys and promotes digestion. It also delivers boron, calcium, and silicon; making it an excellent choice for preventing osteoporosis and other bone and muscle conditions.

“Young dandelion leaves make delicious sandwiches, the tender leaves being laid between slices of bread and butter and sprinkled with salt. The addition of a little lemon juice and pepper varies the flavor,” states the classic book on herbs A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve.

 Chickweed

Grieve also says that when boiled, the young leaves of chickweed (Stellaria media) “can hardly be distinguished from spring spinach, and are equally wholesome.” A crawling perennial, this wholesome herb grows about six inches tall. It has hairy stems, ovate leaves, and star-shaped white flowers (from which the name stellaria comes). Chickweed is native to Asia and Europe, but you can now find it in most parts of the world. It is a wonderful addition to skin products and also contains compounds that aid digestion; making it the perfect salad green. “Apart from its medicinal uses,” says Andrew Chevallier, FNIMH in his Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, “chickweed is a tasty and nutritious vegetable.”

 Lamb’s Quarters

Another ideal addition to your salad is lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album). Amazingly, this European relative of spinach actually tastes like spinach. It branches like a tree and unchecked, can reach up to six feet tall. However, for your salad, you would want the young, tender leaves. Diamond shaped, they appear to have white powder on the undersides. High in beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, and iron, lamb’s quarters provides more nutritional punch than its cultivated cousin. Some folks even harvest it from their field before plowing and can or freeze it just as they would spinach.

Now that we have the foundation for our salad, with what shall we top it? I could add a few red clover blossoms, a cup of wild berries, some sprigs of mint, or even some chopped green onions—all from the backyard.

But this only begins our produce foraging experience. My backyard, and probably yours as well, also has herbs for health, ones for tea, and fruit for dessert. What have you eaten from your backyard lately? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

References:

•  Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve
• Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier, FNIMH

Disclaimer:

If you are not familiar with foraging, please use a field guide for proper identification or have an experienced forager accompany you before eating wild foods.

Photo by Chiot’s Run

Imagine, if you will, buying a complete meal in a bag. No thawing from the freezer, no chopping or dicing, not even cooking required. Just pop the pieces straight from the bag into your mouth, potato chip style, and you have all your required daily allowances of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Sound great? No, I didn’t think so. Well, how do you think your dog feels about his kibbles?

Why do we strive to buy organic, fresh, and local and yet give our constant companions factory food? Since this is National Pets are Wonderful Month, I’d like to look at what would be involved in making your own dog food.

Protein

Raw meat from grass-fed, free-ranged animals is the healthiest choice. Why raw? Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, in his book Natural Health for Dogs and Cats recommends raw meat “on the basis of research, clinical practice and the natural habits of predators since the beginning of time.” If you are concerned about pathogens or parasites in the meat, freeze it before serving.

Grains

Since wheat and corn are common allergens, I like to use brown rice. But if your dog has no issues with the wheat and corn, by all means add them to your recipe. Millet is a grain high in protein. Oats are relatively inexpensive if you are feeding a large dog. Remember, a variety will give you a nutritional advantage.

Eggs

Eggs are a complete protein and a wonderful source of vitamin A. Dogs love them. For added benefit, blend the eggs shell and all in a blender until the shells are finely ground. Serve raw mixed with other ingredients.

Vegetables

My miniature pinscher begs for pieces of carrot, raw green beans, or other vegies when I’m preparing them for supper. Once, while canning peaches, we caught him nibbling on them through the sides of the bushel basket. Don’t hesitate to add raw or steamed vegetables to your dog’s food recipe. They add needed vitamins, minerals, and roughage to the diet.

Supplements

Garlic, essential fatty acids, greens, apple cider vinegar, and vitamin e are a few of the necessary supplements you will want to add to your raw dog food recipe. Adding these things assures your canine companion is getting all that he needs.

Recipes

Personally, I feed my miniature pinscher a raw meatball with rice and raw vegies once per day. The rest of the time, I keep an all-natural kibble available. For this article, I asked a friend to share her complete raw food recipe. Since I hesitate to share just one recipe, a few links that follow Dr. Billinghurst’s Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) Diet follow.

• http://vonhapsburg.homestead.com/barfdiet.html
• http://www.rawfoodlife.com/Raw_Pets/Raw_Pet_Recipes/raw_pet_recipes.htm#dog
• http://www.seefido.com/html/model_barf_diet.htm

Basic Raw Dog Food Recipe

Mix in large bowl:

• 2-3 cups frozen greens
• 2 cups vegetables
• 2 cups fresh or frozen fruit
• 2 cups organ meats
• 10-12 cups ground meat (chicken with bones, beef, lamb, rabbit with bones, or turkey with neck bones)
• 4 cups cooked grains

Blend in blender:

• ¼ cup ground flax seed
• 8 well-beaten eggs with shells
• 2 cups yogurt, kefir, or whey
• 3 Tbsp cod liver oil
• 1600 IU vitamin E
• 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 5000 mg vitamin C with bioflavonoid
• ¼ cup kelp
• ¼ cup alfalfa powder or other green powder
• Bonemeal (if bone not included with meat)
• 1/4 cup brewers yeast
• Small amount of Garlic

Combine two mixtures.

References:

Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD & Susan Hubble Pitcairn

http://www.barfworld.com/

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/index.php

Snack food. What comes to mind when you hear that? Cookies? Chips? Ice cream? Anything in a bag that rattles or that is covered in chocolate? Surely, you can do better than that. I would like to challenge you to steer clear of those machines loaded with colorful lures that hook you into breaking the diet, or otherwise compromise your good health. In place of those packaged, factory-made morsels of ill health, consider the following options.

Vegetables

You don’t even have to cut them up, anymore. If money is no option, you can purchase tubs of cut-up vegies in the produce section of your grocery just for snacking. If you need to pinch your pennies, cut up your own tubs and keep in the refrigerator for a quick snack. If you are on the go a lot, or have small children that like to help themselves, divvy up the vegies into little zip-shut snack bags. Then, when you are heading out the door, grab a baggie or two for the road. A few that keep well for snacking are:

• Carrots
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Green beans
• Asparagus

Fruit

Keep a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter for a healthy sweet treat. Fresh fruit is always a better choice than fruit canned in heavy syrup. If you can your own fruit when in season, cut the syrup. I use the recipe for thin syrup and then cut the sugar that in half yet again. It makes no difference to the final quality. Also, when I can applesauce, I choose Golden Delicious apples. These apples are so sweet, no added sugar is necessary. Whole fruit is another good choice for those people on the go. Who needs a something out of the vending machine when they have an apple in their bag?

Trail Mix

Don’t go buy the trail mix with the chocolate candies in it. Go to a store that sells bulk groceries and buy the ingredients for your trail mix and mix at home. Some great suggestions are nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes, Cheerios or Chex cereal pieces, and sunflower seeds. Having a healthy combination of protein and carbohydrates is suggested. Again, this is something you can divvy up into snack baggies or small containers for individual servings.

Cheese and Crackers

If you want a protein snack, don’t reach for the Snickers bar. Ounce for ounce, a slice of cheddar cheese gives you more protein than the peanuts in that candy. Cheese also has the staying power you will want for the afternoon slump, too.

Yogurt

Not only is yogurt high in calcium (about 100 mg. per cup), it provides the pro-biotics that our digestive system needs. Also, making your own yogurt is easy and fun if you learn to do it in a cooler. If you have access to raw milk, your homemade yogurt will have many more health benefits than that purchased from the store.

What about you? What kinds of healthy snacks do you keep on hand? I’d love to have you share your ideas with us in the comments.

Photo by JennaPrete

I remember having frequent stomach aches as a small child. Looking back, I believe they probably came from stress and poor diet.

As a teen and young adult, I could eat anything. Seriously. And in large quantities. I lived for a pot of chili, hotter than my family could stand. My friends never understood how I stayed so thin.

Then it happened—pregnancy. Carrying an extra 40 pounds just below my stomach did me in. I couldn’t eat a quantity of anything; and definitely not chili. Subsequent pregnancies—five to be exact—and a couple bouts with Irritable Bowel Syndrome have left my stomach health wanting. However, with proper management and a healthy diet I can, once again, enjoy an occasional bowl of chili.

Before I tell you how I treat my digestive problems, let me say this: chronic heartburn is a symptom that something is wrong. Uncontrolled, it can lead to the burning of the lining of the esophagus, stomach ulcers, or cancer. If you cannot get it under control, see a healthcare professional.

Know your trigger foods—This was the key with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Yes, it is initially caused from stress, but then certain foods will aggravate it. I always thought it was my mother, then I realized we always had spaghetti when I asked her to dinner. Turns out tomato sauce, coffee, carbonated beverages, and baked potatoes are my worst triggers. The best way to figure this out is to keep a food diary. When you find yourself having to run to the bathroom before you can finish eating, take note of what’s on the plate.

Eat fermented foods—The enzymes found in things like sauerkraut, pickles, kombucha, and other fermented foods and drinks act as digestive aids in your stomach. Before refrigeration, fermentation was a way to keep foods through the winter. In some cultures, serving these foods at every meal was a way to keep the digestive system healthy.

Take pro-biotics—Many of us are missing the natural flora that should be found in the digestive tract due to antibiotic use. The way to replace that is to take some type of pro-biotic supplement or to eat cultured milk products such as yogurt. Pro-biotic supplements require refrigeration, so don’t waste your money buying them at WalMart or your pharmacy. Go straight to the refrigerator in your local health food store for a quality product.

Take DGL—Studies have shown deglycyrrhizinated licorice as effective, or more so, than prescription drug products in treating peptic ulcers. Taken on an empty stomach about 20 minutes before a meal, the DGL coats the lining of the stomach and promotes healing of the mucosa. If I could only choose one item to treat my stomach, it would be DGL.

Eat small meals—Don’t eat until you are stuffed. When you start to feel full, stop. It is better to eat 4-5 small meals a day than 3 large ones. Also, give your stomach time to digest your food before lying down. That means taking your supper earlier and forgoing that bedtime snack. (This tactic will also help you shed a few pounds.)

Drink apple cider vinegar—Another way I treat my stomach is to drink an apple cider vinegar beverage with my meals. In a cup of warm water, add 2 teaspoons of the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of raw honey.  The vinegar acts as a digestive aid and the honey, while anti-biotic in nature, makes the vinegar more palatable. This combination really does have a pleasant taste.

What about you? What do you do to treat your heartburn and digestive problems? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

 Photo by Leo Reynolds

My husband is struggling with a health issue right now. My sister-in-law has many health issues. I don’t have the energy I’d like to have. A friend struggles with her weight. I believe everyone on the planet, at certain times or seasons of their lives anyway, could live a healthier lifestyle. That is what motivates me to write about six ways in particular you can have better health.

You will probably want to scroll quickly through the headings that follow and say, “Nothing new. I know all that,” and then be tempted to go to the next blog on your list. Please don’t do that. Bear with me. Ask yourself, “Am I truly doing this in my life—everyday?” Because if you’re not, then there is room for improvement.

1. Move Your Body

I know I’ve said this before. I know you’ve probably heard this a bazillion times. We do not get enough exercise. If you do not currently have an exercise program, please do not start with running a mile today. Start slow. Get out of the recliner and turn off the television without using the remote. Walk to the neighbor’s instead of driving the car. Ride your bike to the store. Then, once you’re used to the motion, start a stretching program. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or organized. While waiting for the coffee pot in the morning, reach for the ceiling and then bend and touch your toes a few times. Once the kinks are out, move on to something a little more taxing. If you need accountability, join an exercise class or get a walking partner. Just get moving.

2. Drink Pure Water

I don’t want to get into a discussion about how good your tap water is for you or the downside of drinking out of plastic bottles. I just want you to drink water. Stop putting those coins in the machine that spits out aluminum cans. Stop going through the drive-thru for a steaming mug of joe. When you are thirsty, drink water. If you need to know how much is enough use this formula.

Body weight x .5 = ounces of water to drink daily

That means a 200 pound person needs 100 ounces of water per day. One hundred ounces is a little over 3 quarts. This formula is for a normal day. In the hot summer, or during exercise, our bodies require more.

3. Eat Fresh Foods

How many times a week do you eat fast food? How many Box Tops for Education could you save for your children’s school? Forget the Box Tops. You will do better to eat things without barcodes. The rule in our home is to eat our food as close to the way God made it as possible. That means an apple before applesauce before apple pie. An acquaintance has not eaten in a fast food establishment in years. Want incentive to join him? Watch the movie Food, Inc.

4. Breathe Fresh Air

Most Americans live and work in climate-controlled environments. Central heating and air-conditioning, office windows that do not open, even A/C in our automobiles, deprive our lungs of fresh air. If you work in an office, the air your co-workers cough into gets circulated into your cubicle. So what can you do about it? Go outside for breaks and lunch. Breathe deep. At home, open up the windows whenever possible. Let the breeze in. Enjoy.

5. Wash Your Hands

As soon as we come home from a trip to town my kids know to head straight to a sink and wash their hands with soap. At the grocery, we use the courtesy wet wipes and clean the cart handle before using it. We’ve also used them to wipe our hands when leaving the store. I never use the cashier’s pen. How many people have touched that pen that day and how healthy are they? My daughter suffered with mononucleosis last year. Looking back, she knows how she got it. She went to apply for a test, used the public pen, and stuck it in her mouth! Ugh! I did teach her better. Now I’m not promoting germaphobia here. Just a little common sense.

6. Go To Bed Early

There is truth in the saying, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Our bodies utilize the sleep we get before midnight better than those hours after midnight. Going to bed at a consistent hour and getting up at a consistent hour each day (even on weekends) is important. Sleep deprivation can lead to chronic fatigue, depression, hypertension or memory loss.

I could go on. I could get more specific. But I don’t think I need to. These six things are so basic most people overlook them. It’s easier to pop a pill, take a supplement, or try herbs than it is to change your diet. But that is so backwards. Work on these things and let me know how you do. I’d love to hear your stories.

Photo by Jesse Gardner

I haven’t always eaten a healthy, organic, fanatically local diet. In fact, I don’t now. I do what I can, when I can; and I try not to feel guilty about the rest. But the one obstacle I hear regularly when I counsel someone to make dietary changes is that they cannot afford it. I empathize; really I do. But I disagree.

Last week I reviewed the movie Food, Inc. It was a great movie and I believe everyone should watch it. However, I have issue with the portrayal of the family that does not have time to cook because they leave their house at 6 a.m. and do not return until 9-10 p.m. They also said that they could not afford fresh vegetables, so opt for drive-through dollar menu food at Burger King. Sure, on the surface, junk food looks cheap. But they also shared their struggle with diabetes (a disease directly related to diet) and having to afford medications to treat it. This is what I would advise them to do.

Change Your Lifestyle

Why are you gone from home for 14 hours a day? That is not healthy. Families need rest and play time together. Please don’t tell me you’re running your kids to sports, drama, debate, etc. Please don’t tell me you work 14 hours a day and still cannot afford to eat properly. Something has to give, and at this point, it is your health.

Eating healthy is a lifestyle choice. To make whole wheat bread from freshly ground flour, one must be home to grind the wheat and make the bread. Healthy food requires preparation time. If eating healthy and changing your diet is important to you, you will change your habits to include the time.

Change Your Vision

The mistake a lot of folks make is to compare the price of “bad” manufactured foods with that of organic manufactured foods. You need to get past that. Become a shopper of ingredients and learn to cook. Purchasing raw ingredients (like grains, salt, sugar, and oil) in bulk and making your food from scratch is much cheaper than buying manufactured food. Give up the factory foods—even the organic ones.

Change Your Choices

Can you not afford locally grown produce because you spend $10 a week on Mountain Dew? Do you stop on your way to the office every day for a $3 cup of coffee, or join the guys for unhealthy $10 lunches several days a week? Perhaps your 120-pound Rottweiler eats $50 worth of dog food a month? These are all things you are free to do; but are these choices helping you in your goal to change your diet?

Grow Your Food

I realize that everyone doesn’t have a couple of acres to work with. But many, many people have urban homesteads. Gardens can be grown in back yards and even on patios. Do what you can; rather than complaining and doing nothing.

Check with your city. Many municipalities now allow a couple backyard chickens. Some even allow goats.  Subscribe to a helpful magazine like Urban Farm to learn all you can. Read All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew for more helpful advice.

However, if you do live in a rural area, what are you waiting for? Find a farmer friend and learn all you can about gardening and keeping animals for eggs, milk, and meat. Do what you can.

Buy Locally

If you cannot produce enough for your family, or if you are physically unable to garden, visit your local farmers’ market. Purchase what you can from local organic farms. If you still cannot afford it, barter something. Many Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms accept work hours in exchange for food.

Start Slow and Small

Whatever you do, do it slowly. For one thing, this transition takes time. For another, you will need to adjust your budget to allow for monthly shopping of bulk products. I started 25 years ago with baking my own bread. It was several years later before I was introduced to a produce co-op that provided all the produce my family needed. Rather than cutting out boxed foods entirely, start reading labels. First, quit buying anything with MSG and replace them with what you make from scratch. Second, eliminate high fructose corn syrup. Third, axe the artificial coloring. By this time I’m betting there’s nothing in a box left that you can purchase.

One step at a time, and over 25 years, we’ve gone from eating manufactured food for every meal to eating it only on occasion. And I still spend less than $400 a month to feed a family of six. If I can do it, you can too.

 Photo by Downing Street

I know Food, Inc. has been out for a while. However, our family is so slow at getting to movies that I just watched Food, Inc. while we were on Staycation. This movie made such an impact on our thinking that I wanted to share it with you here.

Prior to viewing, I did already know that our food supply is controlled by only a handful of major corporations. But I had no idea how that control came about, or to what extent these corporations go to keep it that way.

Narrators Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, and Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, take the viewer behind the scenes of commercial chicken farms, slaughterhouses, poultry and pork processing facilities, and Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFO). A few of the chapters include:

• “Fast Food to All Food”—how the fast food industry started the industrial revolution for food.
• “A Cornucopia of Choices”—the role corn plays in most manufactured food.
• “Unintended Consequences”—highlights one mother’s battle for legislation after the death of her son due to an infection with E coli.
• “The Dollar Menu”—discusses the choices parents make between fresh vegetables and cheap, fast food.
• “Power of the Consumer”—discusses what choices consumers can make to change the system.

Manufactured Food

According to the movie, manufacturing food began to fulfill the fast food industry’s need for uniformity. McDonald’s, for instance, wants to know that a hamburger in one of their stores in Ohio looks, weighs, and tastes the same as a hamburger in Florida. This drive for uniformity not only led to manufacturing the food, but growing it as well.

In 1950, it took 70 days to grow a meat chicken. Today, a chicken twice the size grows in 48 days. Since people like to eat white meat, chickens have been redesigned to have large breasts. This disfigurement causes other issues. On my own place, I’ve seen our Cornish Rock Cross broilers get so heavy they could barely walk. We routinely lost chickens to broken legs. Feeling this unnatural and unhealthy, this year we purchased Freedom Ranger chicks and were much happier with the outcome. But in an interview for the movie, Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council said, “We’re not producing chickens, we’re producing food.”

Conversely, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms shares, “The industrial food is not honest food. It’s not priced honestly; it’s not produced honestly; it’s not processed honestly. There’s nothing honest about that food.”

Corn Facts

Following are a few random facts about corn that I gleaned from this movie:

• “So much of our industrial food turns out to be clever rearrangements of corn.” Michael Pollan
• A hundred years ago a farmer could grow 20 bushels of corn to the acre. Today, 200 bushels is normal.
• Thirty percent of the land in the US is planted in corn.

My own brother, a physician, told me that the number one concern that Americans face with their diet is that we are overdosing on corn. It is in practically everything we eat. If you want to avoid genetically modified corn products in your foods, look to avoid  the following ingredients on your labels:

• cellulose
• calcium stearate
• xantham gum
• saccharin
• maltodextrin
• sorbital
• sucrose
• gluten
• high fructose corn syrup
• ethel acetate
• citrus cloud emulsion
• ascorbic acid
• di-glycerides
• baking powder
• vanilla extract
• fructose
• sorbic acid
• starch
• semolina
• margarine

You probably want to avoid all commercially raised meat as well because corn is the main ingredient in all animal feeds. Even farm-raised tilapia and salmon are fed corn—something they would never eat in nature.

While on the subject of corn, the chapter “From Seed to the Supermarket” plays like a suspense thriller describing the lengths that Monsanto goes through to protect the patents that they have on corn. Yes, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of this corporation patenting what, initially, God created, and now they have genetically modified.

What We Can Do About It

Watching Food, Inc. is almost despairing. But there are things that you can do. That is where “Power of the Consumer” comes in. Grow as much of your own food as possible and what you can’t, buy from local, organic farms. Taking this transition one step at a time, you can change the way your family eats and make a difference in the food manufacturing process.

The Washington Post said of this movie, “Everyone should see Food, Inc.”

Oprah Winfrey said, “It might change your life.”

I say, “Watch Food, Inc. and it will change your life.”

As a young adult, coffee ruled my life. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t even like coffee. But having to be at my desk at the print shop at 7 a.m. was not easy for this night owl. At first I simply enjoyed the aroma from afar. Then, I’d pour myself a cup to get that smell a little closer. I’d hold the mug in my hands to warm them between jobs.

The next thing you know, I was sipping. Not too much at first. One must acquire a taste for coffee. But it didn’t take me long. Next thing you know, I soon downed the entire mug, black, and going for more. I became a regular at the office coffee bar. The last straw was buying my own Mr. Coffee for the apartment so I could indulge on the weekend.

Isn’t that how every addiction begins? First a glance, then a smell, then one sip at a time. Once I knew I couldn’t make it through a day without a pot of java, I determined to cut back. That didn’t work. So I quit—cold turkey. The effects resembled a druggy going through DT’s.

• Massive headaches
• The shakes
• Uncontrollable nervousness
• Blood-shot eyes
• Inability to crawl out of bed
• Depression
• Disorientation

Then I was free—until I met my mother-in-law. Another one caught in the clutches of this legal lethal substance, she’s a sly one, and oh, so sweet. How could I resist her urgings to have just one cup. Before you could say Jack Robinson I was falling off the wagon.

This roller-coaster ride of caffeine addiction went on for years before I finally conquered it—for good. But now, 20 years later, I’m finding that it’s not only more readily available, it’s cool. It’s expected, and it’s downright in-your-face.

I honestly believe that if caffeine was sold in little vials in back alleys, dark stairwells, or in truck stop locker rooms, it would be illegal. But it’s not; and it’s not. And I didn’t realize how scary it had become until I found “energy shots” in my son’s car.

Several medications should not be taken while consuming caffeine. A few are:

• Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin.
• Bronchodilators such as theophylline
• Herbs such as Echinacea
• And some over-the-counter preparations, like Excedrin, already contain caffeine. So if you take them you are getting more in your system than you realize.

So what’s the problem?

Maybe you feel you handle your caffeine addiction just fine and would rather I butt out of your business. But let me give you a few things to think about, then you decide.

• An article on MayoClinic.com reports “Data from two large, long-term women’s health studies suggest a connection between high caffeine intake and precancerous or high-risk breast lesions.” If I were a woman with sore, cystic breasts, I would re-evaluate my caffeine intake.
• The amount of caffeine in 2-3 cups of coffee can significantly raise your blood pressure.
• Caffeine impairs insulin action. If you have type-2 diabetes, and struggle to keep your blood sugar under control, you should limit your caffeine consumption.
• Caffeine can interfere with sleep and sleep patterns. If you work in a field that requires a good night’s sleep, have small children that wake you up in the night, or are in the time of life that sleep evades, eliminating caffeine from your diet is in order.
• Suffer from irregular or rapid heartbeats? Caffeine is known to aggravate the symptoms.
• Caffeine, coffee in particular, is known to aggravate stomach issues. If you suffer from indigestion or heartburn, have a peptic ulcer or irritable bowel syndrome, or any other non-ulcer stomach pain, you should greatly limit or eliminate your intake of coffee.

I finally gave up coffee for good because it caused extreme pain in my stomach. If coffee bothers your stomach, too, next week I will share a way to prepare it that will not only reduce its caffeine content, but also reduce the stomach-burning acids.

How about you? Share your struggles with caffeine in the comment section below.

Photo by doug88888

Did you know that the United States Department of Agriculture Food Pyramid recommends that adults have between 6-11 servings of grains each day? Since this is National Whole Grains Month, I’d like to look at the recommendation through new eyes; because, to be honest, 11 slices of whole wheat bread just doesn’t look appealing to me—even my homemade from freshly-ground flour bread.

Wheat is not the only grain

When someone says “grain” most people envision wheat, rice, or corn. But there are so many more choices than that. What about the wide array of ancient grains that most Americans have never heard of?

Amaranth—Cultivated for thousands of years, amaranth was a staple food of the Aztec people. After the Spanish Conquistadors invaded Mexico in the 1500s, it almost disappeared as a crop. Amaranth seeds contain from 14-16% protein. And, according to the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute, “the protein is well balanced in amino acids, and is high in lysine, an amino acid most grains are deficient in.” This ancient grain is also high in fiber and contains high levels of tocotrienols (members of the vitamin E family). Some folks like to cook it as porridge. It can also be popped like popcorn, milled into flour and added to bread products, and boiled and served like rice. Amaranth is also gluten-free.

Millet—Better known as bird food in this country, millet has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. With a protein content similar to wheat (around 11%), this cereal grain is also high in B vitamins. Because it is gluten-free, you cannot use millet flour for making raised, yeast breads. However, you can add millet flour to your wheat for a multi-grain bread or use it to make flatbreads or pancakes. To cook millet like you would rice, first toast it in a dry pan to bring out the flavor. Then cook with three times the water as grain for 30 minutes.

Quinoa—Though technically not a true cereal grain because it does not come from the grass family, no grain article would be complete without mentioning quinoa. Domesticated by the Incas in ancient times, quinoa is one of the only plant foods to contain a balanced set of amino acids—making it a complete protein. Since quinoa is a very good source of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this food is valuable for a person’s arterial health. To cook quinoa, first thoroughly rinse the seeds. Then, combine 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover. The quinoa should be ready in about 15 minutes. For a nuttier flavor, try dry-roasting the seeds prior to adding the water. Add fruit and nuts to make a breakfast cereal. Add the seeds to vegetable soup. Or, grind into flour and add to your multi-grain bread.

Spelt—Actually a cousin to wheat, spelt has been used in Europe from ancient times. Because this grain does not normally cause the intolerance issues that wheat causes in some people, it has made a comeback as a replacement for wheat in making yeast breads. This grain offers a whopping 62% of the Daily Value for manganese, as well as an impressive amount of protein, B vitamins, and copper.

I hope this gives you a few new grains to think about adding to your diet. I like to purchase them in little bags at the bulk food store and mill them mixed together to add to pancake or bread flour—enhancing the nutritional value of my wheat. Here is one of my favorites.

Recipe

For an incredible multi-grain pancake combine ½ the wheat you would normally use with a mixture of several other grains. A few of my favorites are millet, brown rice, and whole oats. Mill this mixture into flour. Make your batter as you normally would. Serve with generous amounts of real butter and maple syrup.

Photo by digiyesica

Mint is an ancient herb that was prevalent in medieval herb gardens; its use both as a herb and as an oil is not new. However, it might be that different types of mints were used for different conditions and purposes, as there is more than one type of mint species that has medicinal uses. Peppermint, spearmint and cornmint are three types of mint that have therapeutic properties.

Historical Use of Mint

Mint was common in European herb gardens. However, it is possible that both spearmint and peppermint were used interchangeably and perhaps confused with one another in written medieval texts because I have found conflicting “evidence” of the origin of peppermint.

According to Julia Lawless in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils evidence of the use of peppermint (Mentha piperita) was found in ancient Egyptian tombs; Patricia Davis, in Aromatherapy: An A -Z, also writes that peppermint was used by the Romans and, most likely, the Egyptians too. However, Marina Heilmeyer writes in Ancient Herbs that peppermint was not in existence until 1696, a result of the cross-hybridization of horsemint (Mentha longifolia)and watermint (Mentha aquatica); Lawless writes that peppermint is a hybrid of watermint and spearmint. Whatever the real facts of the story, some type of mint was in common usage both as a culinary and medicinal herb.

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is probably the most common and popular type of herb and mint essential oil in use today. Peppermint is a small, perennial herb that has highly aromatic leaves. There are different types of peppermint plants including white peppermint and black peppermint; both have different colored leaves and flowers (source: The Aromatherapy Garden, Julia Lawless).

Peppermint essential oil is steam distilled from the fragrant herb; it is primarily composed of the chemical components menthol and menthone. Peppermint oil is used in aromatherapy for acne, dermatitis, asthma, bronchitis, digestive problems, colds, headaches and fatigue. Do not use peppermint oil in conjunction with any homeopathic treatments. Peppermint oil might cause skin irritation, due to high menthol content. You should also avoid the use of peppermint oil with and around newborn babies as it might cause breathing difficulties.

Spearmint Oil

Spearmint (Mentha spicta) is probably familiar to those in the United States because of its association with chewing gum flavor! However, it does have medicinal uses too. Spearmint is also a perennial herb but it has bright green leaves and pink/lilac flowers; it is native to the Mediterranean region from where it was transported to America.

Spearmint essential oil is also steam distilled from the fragrant herb; it is not high in menthol or menthone, unlike peppermint oil, which makes it a more suitable alternative to use with children. However, it is high in ketones, so is contra-indicated for use in pregnancy; in addition, do not combine it with homeopathic treatments. Use spearmint oil for nausea, digestive problems, colds, fatigue, headaches and respiratory problems.

Cornmint Oil

Cornmint (Mentha arvensis) is a much smaller herb than peppermint (by about one third in size); it has lilac colored flowers. Cornmint is native to Europe, China and Japan. Cornmint is a member of the Lamiaceae plant family, the same as peppermint and spearmint.

Cornmint essential oil is, like peppermint oil, high in menthol; it is also not suitable for use with homeopathic treatments. According to Lawless, peppermint oil is preferable to the use of cornmint oil as cornmint oil is often fractionated (some of the menthol content is often removed to stabilize the oil in liquid form at room temperature). However, cornmint oil does have some aromatherapy uses (very similar to peppermint oil). Cornmint was traditionally used in Chinese medicine for a number of problems including skin complaints.

General Information About Essential Oils

Always dilute essential oils in a carrier oil or lotion base before applying them to the skin. Be aware of any contra-indications for use and if in doubt consult a qualified and experienced professional aromatherapist for further advice.

Photo by Fernando Stankuns